Various games are known in the prior art which combine standard playing cards and two dice. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,126 to Angileri discloses a game utilizing the attributes of craps with the play of cards wherein the play of the cards is dependent upon the throw of the dice. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,369 discloses a game combining the elements of craps and blackjack wherein the rules of blackjack apply to movement of game pieces as determined by the roll of the dice.
There are various card games in which a wager is placed on the table by placing one or more chips on a designated spot on the gaming surface. There are various games in which a coin or chip is inserted into a slot and the wager is indicated by a light. Such systems are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,186 to Hinterstocker; the U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,557 to Floyhar; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,016 to Thompson; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,104 to Jones et al. and the U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,249 to Johnson. In some games it is often desirable to remove the chips after the bet is made. In other words, it is often desirable for a player to place a bet, yet allow a dealer to remove the chips from the betting area while the bet remains in force during play.
Furthermore, it is known to include a progressive jackpot in a card game or other game of chance as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041 to Jones et al.; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,405 to Jones et al.; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,077 to Jones; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,104 to Jones et al.; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,973 to Jones et al.; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,430 to Breeding; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,194 to Breeding et al.; and the U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,893 to Jones et al.
Against this prior art background, the invention of combining the play of the card game of twenty-one, or blackjack, and the dice game of craps was made and is disclosed and claimed in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/533,567, filed Sep. 25, 1995. In accordance with that invention, at least two cards are presented to each player under the rules of blackjack and a craps wager is offered to all of the players when at least one player has two cards equaling twenty-one. The craps wagers are settled based upon wagers made by the individual players and the roll of the dice generally in accordance with the odds and the rules of craps. That invention is further disclosed and claimed in the continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 08/587,016, filed Jan. 16, 1996 and now abandoned, and the continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 08/724,597, filed Sep. 30, 1996. A game board for use in playing that invention is disclosed and claimed in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/, filed Jan. 22, 1997. The game board has an upper playing surface presenting a plurality of player areas with each player area including at least one wager indicator. The wager indicator is characterized by including a lens substantially flush with the playing surface and a sensor for sensing the presence of a chip on the lens.